Renters beware scam ads

When Stephanie Rothman spotted an online posting in December for a Costa Mesa home renting for $1,300 a month, it seemed too good to be true.

“You never know,” Rothman said. “I got excited. I thought, ‘Whoa. This sounds really great.’ We were all excited. It would be a perfect situation in terms of the size of the house.”

Indeed, ads offering homes for minimal rent like the one Rothman was looking at — four bedrooms, three bathrooms — in Costa Mesa’s East Mesa Verde neighborhood, would be perfect.

Perfect, that is, if it were true.

In Rothman’s case, the advertiser said they were renting the house but had to rush to Africa to make a bid on some oil reserves so they could not show the house, open the house, or give the keys until they received the first month’s payment of $1,300.

The advertiser did not return requests for comment.

“They find trusting people. They find someone vulnerable, someone who may need reasonable rent,” said FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller. “Consumers just have to be cautious. A healthy dose of skepticism is a good thing.”

Fortunately for Rothman, who lives in Huntington Beach, her skepticism kicked in as soon as she e-mailed the person who posted the ad on Craigslist.org.

The listing, for a home that big and that cheap in a nice neighborhood, was bogus.

It was a scam by people halfway across the world hoping to sucker someone out of some money, authorities said.

It’s a variation of all those scams people get through e-mail claiming they won money, or someone just needs a small deposit to release millions of dollars in funds in Africa, Canada or Europe, officials said.

“If you notice, you will discover that the price we are offering is far below standard price, this is enough for you to know that we are not after the rental fee but the absolute care for the property,” the advertiser explained to Rothman through e-mail. “I know there is no way I can be sure that you are the right person to live in the house because we won’t be able to see physical before sending you the keys and the documents to occupy the space.”

Local real estate agents said they’ve had to endure such scams for awhile, and often get confused calls from people responding to something on Craigslist.

“It happens randomly. What’s interesting is they don’t even pick vacant homes. They didn’t even do any kind of research,” said Valerie Torelli, who’s operated Torelli Realty in Costa Mesa for 25 years. “They’re absolutely fishing.”

Torelli guessed the scam artists find homes put up for sale through Multiple Listing Service at MLS.com.

In a recent example, she said a home on Alabama Circle was listed for about half, $1,300, of what the monthly payments would actually be to buy it.

In a two-hour span, Torelli said, her office got between 20 and 30 phone calls asking about the property.

Many times, the scam artists will simply copy and paste whatever the legitimate advertiser has online onto their own Craigslist ad, she said.

Costa Mesa resident Matt Beattie said he found his parents’ home on Craigslist when he and his wife were searching for an apartment.

“I e-mailed this guy and he said ‘Yeah, I’m in Africa on some peace tour and we relocate every couple of years,’” Beattie said.

Beattie said his parents had just moved to Hawaii and that they had no idea about the online listing.

“They even created a fake e-mail address with my dad’s name,” he said.

The FBI has had to deal with people who have mailed one, two or several months worth of rent overseas, thinking they would receive apartment or house keys in return, Eimiller said.

“In many cases unfortunately, when a U.S. citizen sends money overseas it’s very difficult to get that money back,” she said. “Clearly, the first tip for someone who thinks they may not be dealing with a legitimate management company or firm is to determine who they are.”

Torelli said people should always call the company listed outside the home or apartment, if available.

People can also notify Craigslist if they think they found a bonus ad, or notify authorities at IC3.gov or FBI.gov.

“With loan modifications, short sales, do not give any money up front in real estate — ever,” Torelli said. “Then how can you go wrong? If something is too good to be true, it probably is.”